Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

A loud buzzing noise vibrates underneath your thigh, interrupting your rather peaceful sleep. Who would have thought squishing two bodies in this small wooden swing on a chilly night in March, can be comparable to the comfort of sleeping on the most expensive mattress currently on the market?

You carefully feel around the tiny space between yours and Suho’s leg until your fingers land on the smooth glass screen. They inch their way to the power button, pressing it more than necessary just to silence the call. And once the buzzing ceases, you readjust your position and go back to sleep.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

It doesn’t take long for the vibration to resurrect itself, causing your brows to knit together in annoyance. You’ve already reported your whereabouts to the Ga household earlier so they wouldn’t be calling you now. And it can’t be an emergency because if it was, the Bentley should already be parked outside and your family’s guards should be just about done kicking down Suho’s front door.

So, for the second time, you feel around your seat until you get a hold of that darn device. “Yoboseyo?” you answer after a yawn. Too sleepy to pay attention, you rest your phone on your cheek and automatically tune out the noise coming from the other end of the line.

Just then, Suho wakes up. He gently takes the phone from you and puts it to his ear, rubbing his eye with his other hand.

“Yoboseyo?” he greets groggily while you reroll yourself into a ball and settle your head back on his shoulder.

Upon hearing Suho, the other line becomes quiet for a mere three seconds before a booming voice yells into the speaker, “WHO IS THIS? AND WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER YOU BASTA—”

Before he goes deaf, Suho pulls the phone away, still wincing from the loud bits that managed to pound on his eardrums. He glances at the bright screen and instantly, his lips curve into a half smile. Behind the gorilla glass flashed the caller’s identity: “The Egotistical Jerk”.

Realizing who it is after overhearing his deafening voice escape the speaker, you take the phone from Suho, who—with a smirk on his face—disappears inside to get his jacket and car keys ready.

“What do you want?” you ask grumpily as you sit up.

“Mi Youngie! Are you okay?” LJoe responds with much worry.

“Mi Youngie?” you repeat almost to yourself before focusing back on the overly dramatic leader of Shinil University. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m with sunbae,” you explain rather harshly.

 “EHHHH? YA! YA! YA! What are you two doing?” he questions, raising his voice once more.

“We’re not doing any—” you begin, but are quickly cut off by some fatherly words that takes you by surprise.

“You better come home right now young lady!” he orders firmly before hanging up the phone.

Dumbstruck, you stare at the black screen. Wha~ this guy, really.

|| Ga Residence ||

“Wow,” Suho breathes out as he drives through the long, illuminated driveway leading up to the front doors of the mansion. “And I thought Shinil was breathtaking,” he playfully comments, causing an embarrassed—almost an apologetic—smile to form on your lips for having such an unnecessarily ginormous house.

When the mansion finally comes into view, you immediately spot three familiar sports cars parked in a line. What are they doing here? You ask yourself as you stare out from your seat.

“Mi Young?” Suho calls after opening the car door, snapping you out of your thoughts. Then, like a true gentleman, he offers his hand and walks you up the stairs. But as he steps closer to give you a hug goodnight, one side of the double doors opens, followed by an outstretched hand that snatches you inside while the other slams the door on Suho’s face.

This well-coordinated stunt happened in a blink of an eye and before you know it, you’re standing there openmouthed, facing a wooden block. Quickly coming to your senses, you throw the door open and find your dumbstruck sunbae tending to his forehead. He had tried to chase after you, but instead of catching GH Group’s heiress, he caught the door with his face.

With narrowed eyes, you glance over your shoulder and shoot daggers in LJoe’s direction—warning him of his upcoming death—before stepping out and closing the door behind you.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” you ask worriedly as you reach out to see if any damage has been made.

But before your fingers can reach him, Suho gently grabs your hand, preventing you from touching the now visibly red spot on his face. He flashes that sweet smile of his and nods slightly. “I'm fine,” he assures you, giving your hand a light squeeze.

After properly saying goodbye and promising to see him off at the airport tomorrow, you go back inside the house. And with brows stitched closely together, you set your eyes on your target.

“You!” you call sternly, “What the hell was that for?”

“What the hell was what for?” an unfazed LJoe answers playfully.

You inhale air through your gritted teeth and stare him down. “Lee Byung Hun…” you warn.

“Relax,” he begins with lips arching into grin. “I told your dad I’d look after you while he’s away, so that’s what I did,” he explains as he sits himself comfortably on the white leather sofa, “Just keeping my promise because that is what men do.”

You scoff at his comment. “Tch. You’re more like a child if you ask me,” you mutter under your breath as you walk away, but a sudden thought freezes you on the spot. You stop and look back at him curiously, “Wait. How do you know my father?”

“Hm? Oh, my old man is accompanying your dad on his business trip,” he answers with his eyes glued to his phone, “I got to meet him this morning before they left and guess what?”

“What?”

LJoe finally puts his phone down and looks at you, smiling. “After telling him how close we are, he even asked if I was your boyfriend,” he informs you happily.

…

You glare at him and wait for Shinil’s flirtatious leader to reveal the response he gave your dad, but of course, he takes his precious time.

LJoe leans back on the soft leather and rests his blonde head on his fisted hand. “I told him you aren’t ready to confess your feelings to me just yet,” he replies with wink.

“Wh—wha—what?” you struggle to reply. Just how many more nonsense remarks will this guy make tonight? You ask yourself, fixing your eyes on him.

Seeing your expression, LJoe lets out a laugh. “I’m kidding,” he confesses. He then meets your gaze and with a serious tone, he continues, “But I did promise to always take care of you…and this I intend to keep.”

As if suddenly losing your ability to respond, you stand there speechless. It’s difficult to admit—and you can even be wrong—but the way he said those words…the sincerity in his voice…just made your heart skip a beat. Who knew this egoistic guy had this side to him?

Still struggling to find your voice, you stare at LJoe and observe that attractive half smile on his face—a smile that soon fades away.

Having remembered that you just spent the whole day with a guy, he judgingly eyes you from head to toe. And with a heavy sigh, he breaks from your gaze. “Now I see keeping that promise isn’t as easy as I thought…seeing how promiscuous you can be,” he comments jokingly.

And…he’s back.

“What? What was that?” you ask using this monotonous, daunting tone. With light steps, you slowly make your way to him, grabbing one of the larger throw pillows on your way.  

Like a prey detecting his predator, LJoe bolts. He jumps out of his seat and over the sofa, keeping a safe distance from you. “I was kidding! Mi Young I’m totally kidding!” he yells while continuing to back away blindly.

But despite retracting his words, you calmly chase after him, dragging your fluffy weapon on the floor. No amount of excuses nor apologies will prevent you from making his entire body meet the pillow in your hand.

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